Phonological awareness, phonological processing, and reading skill training system and method

ABSTRACT

A training tool for training and assessing one or more auditory processing, phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skills of an individual is provided. The training tool may use various graphical games to train the individual&#39;s ability in a particular set of auditory processing, phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skills. The system may use speech recognition technology to permit the user to interact with the games.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority, under 35 USC § 120, from U.S.patent application Ser. No. 60/103,354 filed Oct. 7, 1998 and entitled“Adaptive Auditory and Phonological Apparatus and Method” which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to a training and assessmentsystem and method for training and measuring one or more different areasof phonological awareness, phonological processing, auditory processing,and reading skills in order to train the individual in the one or moredifferent areas.

[0003] It is well known that a relationship exists between phonologicalprocessing abilities of an individual and the normal acquisition ofbeginning reading and spelling skills. For inefficient and disabledreaders and spellers, the impasse exists in the perceptual andconceptual elusiveness of phonemes. Phonemes are the smallest units ofspeech that correspond to the sounds of our spoken language. Ourphonologically based language requires that students have a sensitivityto and an explicit understanding of the phonological structure of words.This explicit understanding of the phonological structure of words isknown as phonological awareness. Phonological awareness skills aredisplayed by an individual when the individual is able to isolate andidentify individual sounds within words and to manipulate thoseidentified sounds. Phonological processing refers to the use ofinformation about the sound structure of oral to process oral andwritten information. These include, for example, verbal short termmemory, sequencing and language comprehension skills.

[0004] The English language has words that are comprised of sounds insome predetermined order. From the vast number of possible sequences ofsounds, words in the English language actually use a relatively smallnumber of sequences and the majority of these sequences are common tomany words. A child who becomes aware of these common sound sequences istypically more adept at mastering these sequences when the words arepresented in their printed form (i.e., when the child is reading thewords) than a child who lacks this awareness of sounds. For example, theword “mat” has three distinct phonemes /m/, /ae/ and /t/. The words“sat” and “bat” have different initial phonemes, /s/ and /b/respectively, but share the middle and final phonemes (/ae/ and /t/,respectively) that form the common spelling pattern “at”. To a childwith normal phonological awareness, our alphabetic orthography appearsto be a sensible system for representing speech in writing. Thus, achild may employ the strategy of sounding out unknown words or lettersequences by analogy to known words with identical letter sequences. Forexample, the child may pronounce the unknown word “bat” by rhyming itwith the known word “cat”.

[0005] Phonological awareness skills are grouped into two categoriesincluding synthesis and analysis. Phonological synthesis refers to theawareness that separate sound units may be blended together to formwhole words. Phonological analysis refers to the awareness that wholewords may be segmented into a set of sound units, including syllables,onset-rimes and phonemes. Both analysis and synthesis skills have beenidentified as important prerequisites for achieving the goal of earlyreading skill proficiency and deficits of either and/or both of theseare typically present in children with reading and spellingdisabilities. Auditory processing skills, including the ability toperceive sounds and differences between sounds, provide an importantfoundation for building phonological awareness skills.

[0006] In addition to these phonological awareness skills, phoneticcoding has been linked to efficient reading ability. Phonetic codingrefers to the child's ability to use a speech-sound representationsystem for efficient storage of verbal information in working memory.The ability to efficiently use phonetic codes to represent verbalinformation in working memory may be measured by performance on memoryspan tasks for items with verbal labels. Children with reading problemshave been found to perform poorly on memory span tasks for items withverbal labels. Thus, phonetic coding is an important skill for a reader.For a beginning reader, he/she must 1) first decode each sound in theword by voicing the appropriate sound for each symbol; 2) store theappropriate sounds in short term memory while the remainder of thesymbols are being sounded out; and 3) blend all of the sounds frommemory together to form a word. The efficient phonetic representation inverbal short term memory permits beginning readers to devote lesscognitive energy to the decoding of sound symbol correspondence thusleaving adequate cognitive resources to comprehend what has been read.

[0007] Returning to the relationship between phonological processing andreading, an individual with good phonological processing skills and goodphonological awareness tends to be better able to learn to read andspell. In addition, phonological processing deficits have beenidentified by researchers as the most probable cause of reading-relatedlearning disabilities. Due to this link, many states have started tomandate phonological awareness training as part of regular classroomreading curricula. At the same time, school personnel are being requiredto be and take responsibility for the classroom curriculum and theremedial reading services they provide. The problem is that it isdifficult for untrained teachers to train a user's auditory processing,phonological awareness, processing and reading skills. Thus, it isdesirable to provide an auditory processing and phonological awarenessskill training system and method that overcomes the above problems andlimitations of conventional training systems and it is to this end thatthe present invention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The auditory processing, phonological awareness, phonologicalprocessing and reading skill training system in accordance with theinvention may permit a user to improve the above skills in order tobecome a better reader and better speller. The system may include one ormore training modules that each train a different set of skills of theuser. Each training module may include one or more tasks wherein eachtask may focus training on a particular skill of the user. Each moduleof the training system is adaptive so that users at various differentskill levels will find the training modules challenging. In particular,each training module may change the difficulty of a task based on thepast performance of the user. For example, in some training modules, thedifficulty of the task is increased when the user provides apredetermined number (e.g., three) of sequential correct responses whilethe difficulty of the task is decreased when the user provides apredetermined number (e.g., 2) of sequential incorrect responses. Thus,the system ensures that the current task is at a difficulty level thatis sufficiently challenging to challenge the user's skills but not toodifficult to discourage the user from continuing the training.

[0009] In accordance with the invention, each training module may changeone or more different difficulty variables to change the difficulty ofthe particular training. For example, a sound recall module may changeone or more linguistic modifiers. The one or more training modules maybe a sound recall module, a sound detection module, a sound blendingmodule, a sound identification module and a sound pattern recognitionmodule.

[0010] Thus, in accordance with the invention, a tool for training oneor more skills associated with the reading and spelling skills of anindividual is provided. The training tool comprises one or more trainingmodules that train a particular set of auditory processing, phonologicalawareness, phonological processing and reading skills so that the user'sskills at the set of skills improves and means for generating a stimulusfor the user for each training module, the stimulus comprising one ormore of a graphical image and an audible sound. The training toolfurther comprises means for receiving a user response to one of thegraphical images and audible sound presented by each module.

[0011] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method fortraining a user to recognize and distinguish a sound is provided. Themethod comprises presenting a first and second sound to the user whereineach sound has a particular set of acoustic components (i.e., one ormore of frequency, energy and duration) that distinguish the two soundsand altering an acoustic component of the first sound to be recognizedby the user by a predetermined amount in order to make the sound moresimilar to the second sound so that the first sound is more difficult todistinguish from the first sound. The method further comprisescontinuing to alter the acoustic component of the first sound until thefirst and second sound are identical. The modified acoustic componentsin accordance with the invention may include frequency changes andchanges in the voice onset time (duration acoustic component).

[0012] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method fortraining a user to discriminate a sound is provided wherein the phoneticcontext of sounds to be presented to the user is selected to change theperceptual saliency of the sounds in order to change the difficulty ofdiscriminating the sounds wherein changing the ordering of the sounds isbased on the phonetic context of the sounds. The method furthercomprises presenting a first and second sound to the user based on theselected phonetic context of the sounds.

[0013] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a methodfor training a user to discriminate a sound is provided wherein aphonetic class of sounds to be presented to the user is selected tochange the perceptual saliency of the sounds in order to change thedifficulty of discriminating the sounds, wherein changing the orderingof the sounds is based on the inherent acoustic and phonetic propertiesof the sounds. The method further comprises presenting a first andsecond sound to the user from the phonetic class of sounds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer-basedphonological skills training system in accordance with the invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of thetraining tool of FIG. 1 in accordance with the invention including oneor more tests that are used to train one or more skills;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the blocks of the training systemin accordance with the invention;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the games includingin the training system in accordance with the invention;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound detection training module in accordance with the invention;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in theblending sound training module in accordance with the invention;

[0020]FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound identification training module in accordance with the invention;

[0021]FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound pattern training module in accordance with the invention;

[0022]FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating the differences in frequencies forEnglish language vowels;

[0023]FIG. 10 is graph of the acoustic vowel continuum;

[0024]FIG. 11a is diagram illustrating varying frequencies forconsonant-vowels syllables;

[0025]FIG. 11b is a diagram illustrating varying voice onset times(VOTs) in accordance with the invention;

[0026]FIG. 12 is flowchart illustrating a method for training a recallskill in accordance with the invention;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the recalltraining game in accordance with the invention;

[0028] FIGS. 14A-14E are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the recall training game of FIG. 13;

[0029]FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a first task of the sound unitidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0030]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second task of the sound unitidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0031]FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a third task of the sound unitidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0032]FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task of the sound unitidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0033]FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sound unitidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0034] FIGS. 20A-20E are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the sound unit identification training game of FIG. 19;

[0035]FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a first task of the blendingsounds training game in accordance with the invention;

[0036]FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a second task of the blendingsounds training game in accordance with the invention;

[0037]FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of the blendingsounds training game in accordance with the invention;

[0038] FIGS. 24A-24G are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the blending sounds training game of FIG. 23;

[0039]FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a first task of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0040]5FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a second task of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0041]FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a third task of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0042]FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0043]FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0044] FIGS. 30A-30F are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the sound identification training game of FIG. 29;

[0045]FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a first task of the soundpattern identification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0046]FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a second task of the soundpattern identification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0047]FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a third task of the soundpattern identification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0048]FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task of the soundpattern identification training game in accordance with the invention;

[0049]FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sound patternidentification training game in accordance with the invention; and

[0050] FIGS. 36A-36D are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the sound pattern identification training game of FIG. 35.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0051] The invention is particularly applicable to a computer basedtraining system for training a child's auditory processing, phonologicalawareness, phonological processing and reading skills and it is in thiscontext that the invention will be described. It will be appreciated,however, that the system and method in accordance with the invention hasgreater utility since 1) it may be used to test and teach a variety ofother individuals, such as illiterate and cognitively-impaired people,individuals whose native language is not English who are learning toread, and adolescents and adults who read poorly and wish to improvetheir literary skills; and 2) the system may be implemented on othercomputer networks, such as the Web, the Internet, a local area networkor the like.

[0052]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of acomputer-based auditory, phonological and reading skills training system50 in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, the trainingsystem 50 may be executed by a computer 52. The computer 52 may be astand-alone personal computer or a computer connected to a network or aclient computer connected to a server. For purposes of illustration, anembodiment using a stand-alone computer 52 will be described. Thecomputer 52 may include a central processing unit (CPU) 58, a memory 60,a persistent storage device 64, such as a hard disk drive, a tape drivean optical drive or the like and a training tool 66. In a preferredembodiment, the training tool may be one or more software applications(training different auditory processing, phonological awareness andprocessing skills or reading skills) stored in the persistent storage ofthe computer that may be loaded into the memory 60 (as shown in FIG. 1)so that the training tool may be executed by the CPU 58. The computer 52may be connected to a remote server or other computer network thatpermits the computer 52 to receive updates to the training tool over thecomputer network. The training tool may also be used in conjunction withthe diagnostic system as described is U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/350,791, filed Jul. 9, 1999 that is owned by the same assignee as thepresent application and is incorporated herein by reference.

[0053] The computer 52 may further include an input device 76 such as akeyboard 78, a mouse 80, a joystick, a speech recognition system 82 orthe like, a display 84 such as a typical cathode ray tube, a flat paneldisplay or the like and an output device 86 such as a speaker forproducing sounds or a printer for producing printed output. The inputand output devices permit a user of the computer to interact with thetraining tool so that the user's skill at various auditory processing,phonological awareness, phonological processing and other reading skillsare improved. For example, the speech recognition system permits theuser to speak into the speech recognition system 82 in response to astimulus from the training tool as described below. The computer 52 mayalso execute a browser software application in order to interact withthe diagnostic system as described above and download one or moreupdates to the training tool.

[0054] As described below in more detail, the training tool may includeone-or more different tools that train various auditory processing,phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skills sothat a child's proficiency at auditory processing, phonologicalawareness and processing skills and reading skills may be increased. Thetraining tool 66 may keep track of a user's scores in each skill areaand adaptively change the difficulty of each game in the training toolbased on the user's current skills. For example, the training tool mayeither increase or decrease the difficulty of the training. As describedbelow, the training tool may alter one or more difficulty variables of acurrent training (e.g., interval between stimuli, similarly of twodifferent words or sounds, level of background noise and the like) tochange the difficulty of the training. Now, more details of the trainingtool will be described.

[0055]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating more details of the computer 52that may be a part of the training system of FIG. 1. The computer 52 mayinclude the CPU 58, the memory 60, the persistent storage device 64 andthe training tool 66. The training tool may further comprise a userinterface (UI) 100 and game logic 102. The user interface may generatemultiple images and audible sounds that are viewed and heard andresponded to by the user using the input devices in order to train theuser in various auditory processing, phonological awareness,phonological-processing and reading skill areas (the “skills”). The gamelogic 102 may store the one or more games that make up the training toolwherein each game may train the user in a different set of skills. Thetraining tool in accordance with the invention may use games to trainthe user since the user may be a child that is more likely to be willingto learn when given a game to play. In other words, the child may beplaying the game and, without realizing it, also training and improvinga particular skill. The training tool may also obviously be implementedusing similar games with different user interfaces for adult users. Now,more details of the training tool in accordance with the invention willbe described.

[0056]FIG. 3 illustrates more details of the training tool 66 thatincludes the user interface 100 and the game logic 102. In more detail,the game logic 102 may include a game file database 110, a scoredatabase 112 and a game administrator and scorer module 114. The gamefile database may store one or more games of the training tool whereineach game trains a different set of skills. Each game in the preferredembodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4-36. Asdescribed above, the actual games contained in the training tool may beupdated or changed. The score database 112 may store the scores for oneor more users for the one or more games contained in the training tool.The score database 112 permits the user's progress at each skill to bemonitored and analyzed. The game administrator and scorer module 114controls which game is being played, the user interface for theparticular game, the score of the particular game and the level ofdifficulty of each game. In this manner, the user of the training tooldoes not to keep track of his/her score or progress since the system mayautomatically track and report the scores and progress of the each userthat uses the system. The administrator also permits one or moredifferent users to user the training tool on the same computer and keeptrack of each user separately. The administrator 114 may also includestatistical software applications (not shown) that permit theadministrator 114 to generate statistics about the one or more usersusing the training tool. Now, an example of the games included in thepreferred embodiment of the training tool will be described.

[0057]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the games includedin a preferred embodiment of the training tool 66 in accordance with theinvention. The training tool 66 may include a sound recall module 120(called “Calling All Engines” in this example), a sound detection module122 (called “Paint by Penguin” in this example), a blending sound module124 (called “Pesky Parrots” in this example), a sound identificationmodule 126 (called “Hippo Hoops” in this example) and a sound patternrecognition module 128 (called “Duck Luck” in this example). Each ofthese games may train one or more skills as described below. Forexample, the recall sound module may train a user's skills at auditoryattention, short term memory, figure-ground discrimination andsequential memory. Some of these games have one or more tasks that mustbe completed to complete the game. More details of the games is providedin the Appendix of the provisional application which is alsoincorporated herein by reference. While the sound recall module has onetask, other modules have more than one task and an example of the taskswithin each game will now be described.

[0058]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound detection training module 122 in accordance with the invention.The sound detection module 122 may include a task 130 of identifying thenumber of sounds, a task 132 of identifying the number and sequence ofsounds, a task 134 of identifying the number and sequence of sounds in aword and a task 136 of manipulating sounds to form words. These tasks,together, train a user's skill at auditory short term memory, sequentialmemory, temporal processing (i.e., temporal ordering and temporalresolution), pattern recognition, phoneme sequencing, phonologicalsegmentation and phonological manipulation. In the first task 130, theuser is asked to detect and identify the number of sounds in a series ofsounds at different difficulty levels such as by varying the number ofsounds presented to change the difficulty of the task. In the secondtask 132, the user is asked to detect and identify the number andsequence of sounds in a series of sounds and the changing of the numberof sounds presented to the user is used to change the difficulty of thetask. In a third task 134, the user is asked to detect and identify thenumber and sequence of sounds in a word. The identification of sounds ina word is more difficult than the identification of isolated sounds sothis task is harder than the first two tasks. In the fourth task 136,the user is asked to manipulate a series of sounds to form a new wordwhich is the hardest skill to learn. Thus, as the user's skills improvein a particular area, the task increases in difficulty until a user hasmastered the skill. Each of these tasks will be described in more detailbelow with reference to FIGS. 15-20. Now, the tasks associated with thesound blending training module will be described.

[0059]FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound blending training module 124 in accordance with the invention. Themodule 124 may include a first task 140 of blending sounds into wordsand a second task 142 of identifying the omitted sound in a word.Together, these tasks train a user's skills at auditory short termmemory, phonological blending, auditory and phoneme discrimination, wordclosure and auditory performance with degraded signals. In the firsttask 140, the user is asked to blend smaller units of sound separated bya varying time interval into a larger sound unit and select that largersound unit wherein the varying time interval changes the difficulty ofthe task. In the second task 142, the user is asked to, when auditorilypresented with a sequence of sound units that form a word except for anomitted sound unit, identify the missing sound unit and the word. Thesetwo tasks are described below in more detail with reference to FIGS.21-24. Now, the tasks associated with the sound identification modulewill be described.

[0060]FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound identification training module 126 in accordance with theinvention. The module may include a first task 150 of detecting a soundchange, a second task 152 of discriminating consonant-vowel syllables, athird task 154 of recognizing a target phoneme and a fourth task 156 ofidentifying the position of a phoneme in a word. The combination ofthese tasks trains the user's skills at auditory vigilance, auditory andphoneme discrimination, phoneme identification and phoneme sequencing.In more detail, the first task 150 asks the user to detect a change ofsound in a series of sounds presented with an interval of preferably 1.0seconds. In the second task, the user is asked to identify a pair ofconsonant-vowel (CV) syllables as being the same or different when thepair are separated by a time interval of preferably 1 second. In thethird task, the user is asked to recognize a word in a series of wordsthat contains a target phoneme when the words are separated by,preferably, a 2 second interval. In the fourth task, the user is askedto identify the position in a word of a consonant phoneme. These taskswill be further described with reference to FIGS. 25-30. Now, the tasksthat make up the sound pattern training module will be described.

[0061]FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tasks in thesound pattern recognition training module 128 in accordance with theinvention. In particular, the module may include a first task 160 ofidentifying a sound at the end of a word, a second task 162 ofidentifying a sound at the start of a word, a third task 164 of blendingsounds into a word and a fourth task 166 of manipulating sounds. Thecombination of these tasks trains the user's skills at sightrecognition, auditory sequential memory, short-term memory, phonemeidentification, rhyming, auditory and phoneme discrimination,phonological blending, segmentation and manipulation and word closure.In more detail, in the first task 160, the user is asked to, whenauditorily presented with a target sound or pattern of sounds, select aword from a set of responses that contains the same sound or soundpattern at the end of the word. In the second task 162, the user isasked to, when auditorily presented with a target sound or pattern ofsounds, select a word from a set of responses that contains the samesound or sound pattern at the beginning of the word. In the third task164, the user is asked to blend units of sound separated by a varyinginterval of time into a target word. In the fourth task 166, the user isasked to, when auditorily presented with a word and instructions tomanipulate one or more sounds into the word, choose a word that matchesthe requested manipulation. More details of these tasks will bedescribed below with reference to FIGS. 31-36. Now, a technique foracoustically modifying a sound in accordance with the invention will bedescribed.

[0062] At various times, it is helpful to acoustically modify a sound orword to make to easier for a user to recognize the word or sound. Thatacoustic modification or enhancement may then be gradually removed fromthe word or sound as the user becomes better at recognizing the sound orword. In this manner, the acoustical modification in accordance with theinvention may be used to adaptively train the user to recognize a wordor sound. To better understand the acoustical modification in accordancewith the invention, the acoustic difference between vowels will bedescribed. However, the acoustic modification may also be used to modifyconsonants, vowel-consonant pairs, words and the like. In more detail,the acoustic modifications may include changing a acoustic component andmay preferably include changing the frequency of sounds or changing thevoice onset time of sounds.

[0063]FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating the differences in frequencies forEnglish language vowels. In particular, the primary acoustic differencebetween vowels is their formant frequencies. In particular, as shown inFIG. 9, the average formant frequencies of the vowels are shown. As setforth in the chart, each vowel may include a first formant frequency(F1), a second formant (F2) and a third formant frequency (F3) whereinthe vowel is formed by the combination of these formant frequencies overa period of time. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the first and second (F1and F2) frequencies for English language vowels. The chart may be knownas the acoustic vowel continuum. In particular, each vowel along thehorizontal axis is a step along the continuum. During the acousticmodification, the acoustic similarity of vowel pairs may be controlledby starting the user with recognizing pairs of vowels that are separatedby, preferably, 4 or more steps along this continuum, such as /i-a/, forexample. As the user masters the discrimination of those 4+step vowelpairs, the training tool may become more difficult by having the userdistinguish vowel pairs separated by three steps, then two steps andthen one step, such as /i-I/, for example. Thus, the training tool maycontrol the acoustic similarity of the vowel pairs based on theirinherent F1 and F2 values. Now, the method of acoustic modification inaccordance with the invention for consonant-vowel syllables will bedescribed.

[0064]FIG. 11a is diagram illustrating varying frequencies forconsonant-vowel (CV) syllables. In particular, the primary acousticdifference between r-l, m-n and d-g, for example, is the value of thesecond and third formant frequencies at the onset of the consonant. Thegraph in FIG. 11 illustrates how the formant frequencies (F1, F2 and F3)differ at onset for a perfect /r/ (shown as stimulus 1 in the chart)to aperfect /l/ (shown as stimulus 10 in the chart) with 10 steps inbetween. The number of steps between the two consonants may be adjustedsuch that a smaller or greater number of steps may be used. Inaccordance with the invention, the training tool may begin by presentingthe user with the two stimuli with the greatest separation, such asstimulus 1 and 10 in the chart. As the user masters that combination,sounds with a smaller separation are used. In accordance with theinvention, the above acoustic modification may be used for ra-la CVpairs, ma-na CV pairs and da-ga CV pairs. In accordance with theinvention, the described acoustic modification may be used for othersounds including other CV pairs, and their inherent distinguishingacoustic properties in various modules and training tasks.

[0065] In addition to modifying sounds as described above, the acousticmodification may also be determined by the phonetic properties of thesounds in accordance with the invention. In particular, the acousticmodification may start with a group of tense-tense vowels pairs and thencontinue with other vowel pairs (e.g., tense-lax). The term “tense”describes a phonetic property of vowels (i.e., vowels that are producedwith tense musculature of the articulators, primarily the tongue).Within this category, 2-step vowel pairs may preferably be used (e.g.,/i-e/) although a different number of steps may be used. The next vowelpair may be a front tense-lax vowel pair (i.e., vowels produced in thefront of the mouth and paired such that each pair contains one tensevowel and one lax vowel. Within this phonetic category of vowel pairs, adecreasing number of steps between the two sounds may be used. Forexample, /i-a/ and then /i-ae/ may be used. The next category of vowelsis back tense-lax vowel pairs followed by front lax-lax pairs, followedby back lax-lax pairs. By selecting and training subgroups of vowelsbased on their phonetic properties (front vs. back and tense vs. lax)and then superimposing the method of gradual step size reduction, a morecomplex and effective method of training is produced. Now, changing thevoice onset time (VOT) in accordance with the invention will bedescribed in more detail.

[0066]FIG. 11b is a diagram illustrating an example of differing voiceonset times (along the y-axis is milliseconds) for different stimuli(along x-axis). In this example, nine different voice onset times(steps) between /ba/ and /pa/ are shown although the number of steps maybe varied in accordance with the invention. The voice onset time isdefined as the amount of time between the onset of the consonant and theonset of voicing (i.e., the onset of the subsequent vowel). In thisexample of acoustic modification, the time acoustic component is beingvaried instead of the frequency acoustic component. Thus, in accordancewith the invention, various acoustic components, such as frequency ortime, may be modified in order to change the difficulty ofdistinguishing two different stimuli. Now, the various modules of thetraining tool in accordance with the invention will be described. Inparticular, the sound recall training module will now be described.

[0067]FIG. 12 is flowchart illustrating a method 180 for training asound recall skill of a user in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 182, the training module may display visual representations of aseries of sounds/words or digits 184 as shown in FIG. 13, generatewritten or oral instructions for the user and then generate a series ofsounds with a time interval between each sound. In step 186, the user isprompted to identify the graphical representations of thesounds/words/digits generated by the computer in sequence. In step 188,the module analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 190, the module may provide the user with feedback 191 (shown inFIG. 13 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) aboutthe user's responses. In the example of the visual feedback shown inFIG. 13, a shield 192 may indicate a correct response while a fire hose193 may indicate an incorrect response. In this task, a {fraction (3/2)}adaptive training system may be used in which the user may advance to ahigher level (as described below) if the user has provided three priorconsecutive correct responses and may be decreased to a lower level (asdescribed below) if the user has provided two prior consecutiveincorrect answers.

[0068] Thus, in step 196, the module may determine if the user has metthe advance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three priorconsecutive questions correctly within a specified amount of time). Ifthe user has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 198. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the number of sounds in the series, the types ofsounds since some sounds are harder to distinguish than other sounds(e.g., long vowels are easier to distinguish than short vowels which arein turn easier to distinguish than consonants), the timing of the visualcueing (e.g., the visual cueing may occur at the time that the sound isgenerated or it may be delayed by some period of time making it hard torely on the visual cue for help), the level of background noise (e.g.,it is harder to distinguish sounds when there is more background noise)or the type of linguistic modifier including in the instructions to theuser. The type of linguistic modifier may include, for example, “and”,“not”, “or”, “first”, “last”, “middle”, “before” and “after”. Forexample, the task may ask the user to identify a sound after a certainsequence of sounds. After the level has been increased using one or moreof the difficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 182 totrain the user at the harder difficulty level.

[0069] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., thedifficulty of the task should be reduced since the user has providedincorrect responses to two prior questions) in step 200. If the user hasmet the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have the difficulty ofthe task decreased, the module may decrease the level difficulty in step202 by changing one or more of the above described difficulty variablesand the method loops back to step 182 to train at the lower difficultylevel. If the user has not met the decrease level criteria, then themethod continues onto step 204 in which the task continues at thecurrent difficulty level and loops back to step 182. In this manner, theuser's recall skills are trained. Now, several examples of the sub-tasksin the recall training module will be described.

[0070] FIGS. 14A-14E are diagrams illustrating examples of differentsub-tasks of the recall training game of FIG. 13. In particular, FIG.14A illustrates the sub-tasks 200-204 of the recalling module with auser recalling and sequencing 1 digit up to 5 digits which is the mostdifficult. FIG. 14B illustrates one or more sub-tasks 205-209 forrecalling and sequencing 1 word up to 4 words which is more difficultthan recalling the digits. FIG. 14C illustrates one or more sub-tasks210-214 for recalling and sequencing 1 to 4 long vowels which is moredifficult than recalling the words. FIG. 14D illustrates examples of oneor more sub-tasks 215-219 for recalling and sequencing 1 to 4 shortvowels which are more difficult to recall than long vowels. FIG. 14Eillustrates examples of one or more sub-tasks 220-224 for recalling andsequencing 1 to 5 consonant sounds which are the hardest sounds torecall. Thus, the difficulty of the recalling training module increasesfrom FIG. 14A-14E.

[0071] In summary, the recall training game may include 168 differentlevels of plays which teach the user auditory sequential memory, phonemeand word discrimination, auditory figure-ground discrimination andcomprehension of linguistic concepts. As described above, the trainingmay be controlled by changing the difficulty variables. Now, a firsttask of the sound detection module will be described in more detail.

[0072]FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a first task 230 of the soundunit detection training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 232, the training module may audibly present a series of soundsto the user and generate written or oral instructions for the user forthe particular task. In step 234, the user is prompted to identify thenumber of sounds heard by the user. In step 236, the user enters aresponse to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 238, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 240, the module may provide the user with feedback 242 (shown inFIG. 19 as visual feedback of a paint tube, but it may also be auditoryfeedback) about the user's responses. In the example of the visualfeedback shown in FIG. 19, an empty paint tube may represent anincorrect answer and a paint tube squirting paint may indicate a correctresponse.

[0073] In step 244, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user responded to a sufficientportion (e.g., 80%) of the presentations correctly within a sufficientamount of time). If the user has met the advance level criteria, themodule may increase the difficulty of the task in step 246. Thedifficulty of the task may be increased by changing one or more of anumber of different difficulty variables in accordance with theinvention. For example, the difficulty variables may include the numberof sounds in the series, a varying time interval between sounds or theavailability of the auditory feedback provided to the user. After thelevel has been increased using one or more of the difficulty variables,the module may loop back to step 232 at the increased level.

[0074] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., thedifficulty of the task should be reduced since the user cannotadequately master the current level of the task since he/she answeredless than 80% of the questions correctly) in step 248. If the user hasmet the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have the difficulty ofthe task decreased, the module may decrease the level difficulty in step250 by changing one or more of the above described difficulty variablesand the method loops back to step 232 to train at the lower difficultylevel. If the user has not met the decrease level criteria, then themethod continues onto step 252 in which the task continues at thecurrent difficulty level and loops back to step 232.

[0075]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second task 260 of the soundunit detection training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 262, the training module may audibly present a series of soundsto the user and generate written or oral instructions for the user forthe particular task. In step 264, the user is prompted to identify thenumber and sequence of sounds heard by the user. In step 266, the userenters a response to the module using one of the input devices, such asthe keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 268,the module analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 270, the module may provide the user with feedback 242 (shown inFIG. 19 as visual feedback of a paint tube, but it may also be auditoryfeedback) about the user's responses. In the example of the visualfeedback shown in FIG. 19, an empty paint tube may represent anincorrect answer and a paint tube squirting paint may indicate a correctresponse.

[0076] In step 272, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered a sufficient portion(e.g., 80%) of the questions correctly within a sufficient amount oftime). If the user has met the advance level criteria, the module mayincrease the difficulty of the task in step 274. The difficulty of thetask may be increased by changing one or more of a number of differentdifficulty variables in accordance with the invention. For example, thedifficulty variables may include the number of sounds in the series, avarying time interval between sounds or the availability of the auditoryfeedback provided to the user. After the level has been increased usingone or more of the difficulty variables, the module may loop back tostep 262.

[0077] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., thedifficulty of the task should be reduced since the user cannotadequately master the current level of the task since he/she answeredless than 80% of the questions correctly) in step 276. If the user hasmet the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have the difficulty ofthe task decreased, the module may decrease the level difficulty in step278 by changing one or more of the above described difficulty variablesand the method loops back to step 262. If the user has not met thedecrease level criteria, then the method continues onto step 280 inwhich the task continues at the current difficulty level and loops backto step 262. Now, a third task of the sound unit identification trainingmodule will be described.

[0078]FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a third task 290 of the soundunit detection training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 292, the training module may audibly present a word to the userand generate written or oral instructions for the user for theparticular task. In step 294, the user is prompted to identify thenumber and sequence of sounds (which may include either syllables orphonemes where syllables are more easily detected than phonemes) in theword heard by the user. For example, “cat” has three sound units. Instep 296, the user enters a response to the module using one of theinput devices, such as the keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognitiondevice. In step 298, the module analyzes the user's response todetermine, for example, the correctness of the user's response andperformance of the user based on some performance criteria such as timeelapsed during the response. In step 300, the module may provide theuser with feedback 242 (shown in FIG. 19 as visual feedback of a painttube, but it may also be auditory feedback) about the user's responses.In the example of the visual feedback shown in FIG. 19, an empty painttube may represent an incorrect answer and a paint tube squirting paintmay indicate a correct response.

[0079] In step 302, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered a sufficient portion(e.g., 80%) of the questions correctly within a sufficient amount oftime). If the user has met the advance level criteria, the module mayincrease the difficulty of the task in step 304. The difficulty of thetask may be increased by changing one or more of a number of differentdifficulty variables in accordance with the invention. For example, thedifficulty variables may include the number of sounds in the word, theavailability of auditory feedback provided to the user, and the syllablestructure of the word. The syllable structure of the word is the numberand sequence of vowels (v) and consonants (c) in a word. For example,the word “on” has a syllable structure of “vc”, the word “cat” has asyllable structure of “cvc” and “stop” has a syllable structure of“ccvc”. In general, the easiest syllable structure is “vc” while themost difficult syllable structure is “cccvcc”. In a preferred embodimentof the training tool, the syllable structures range from “vc” to “ccvc”or “cvcc”. After the level has been increased using one or more of thedifficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 292.

[0080] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., thedifficulty of the task should be reduced since the user cannotadequately master the current level of the task since he/she answeredless than 80% of the questions correctly) in step 306. If the user hasmet the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have the difficulty ofthe task decreased, the module may decrease the level difficulty in step308 by changing one or more of the above described difficulty variablesand the method loops back to step 292. If the user has not met thedecrease level criteria, then the method continues onto step 310 inwhich the task continues at the current difficulty level and loops backto step 292. Now, a fourth third task of the sound unit identificationtraining module will be described.

[0081]FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task 320 of the soundunit detection training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 322, the training module may audibly present a series of soundsto the user and generate written or oral instructions for the user forthe particular task. In step 324, the user is prompted to manipulate thesounds to form a new word. For example, the user may be asked to use oneor more phonemes to form a new word. In step 326, the user enters aresponse to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 328, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 330, the module may provide the user with feedback 242 (shown inFIG. 19 as visual feedback of a paint tube, but it may also be auditoryfeedback) about the user's responses. In the example of the visualfeedback shown in FIG. 19, an empty paint tube may represent anincorrect answer and a paint tube squirting paint may indicate a correctresponse.

[0082] In step 332, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered a sufficient portion(e.g., 80%) of the questions correctly within a sufficient amount oftime). If the user has met the advance level criteria, the module mayincrease the difficulty of the task in step 334. The difficulty of thetask may be increased by changing one or more of a number of differentdifficulty variables in accordance with the invention. For example, thedifficulty variables may include the number of sounds in the series, theavailability of the auditory feedback provided to the user, and the typeof manipulation requested. For example, the user may be requested tomanipulate a word by re-arranging phonemes, deleting a phoneme,replacing a phoneme, or inserting a phoneme which each have a differentlevel of difficulty. After the level has been increased using one ormore of the difficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 322.

[0083] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., thedifficulty of the task should be reduced since the user cannotadequately master the current level of the task since he/she answeredless than 80% of the questions correctly) in step 336. If the user hasmet the decrease level criteria and thus need to have the difficulty ofthe task decreased, the module may decrease the level difficulty in step338 by changing one or more of the above described difficulty variablesand the method loops back to step 322. If the user has not met thedecrease level criteria, then the method continues onto step 340 inwhich the task continues at the current difficulty level and loops backto step 322. Now, an example of the sound unit identification trainingmodule user interface will be described.

[0084]FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sound unitdetection training game user interface 350 in accordance with theinvention. The user interface may include the visual feedback 242 asdescribed above, a pause button 352 to pause the game, a speaker icon354 so that the user may request that the sound is replayed, one or moredifferent colored sponge prints 356 each representing a click of thebutton by the user, and one or more different color paintcans 358.During the game, the user hears a word, such as “dog” and clicks onthree different color paintcans indicating that the word has threedifferent sounds. As the user clicks on the paintcans, one or moresponge prints may appear to provide the user with feedback about thenumber of clicks the user has made. Now, several example of the tasks ofthe sound unit detection module will be described.

[0085] FIGS. 20A-20E are diagrams illustrating examples of differentviews of the sound unit detection training game of FIG. 19. Inparticular, FIG. 20A illustrates a screen 360 in which the user iscounting the number and sequence of speech sounds while FIG. 20Billustrates a screen 362 in which the user is segmenting sounds in aword. As illustrated, each sub-task may use the same user interface withchanging stimulus. Thus, in FIG. 20C, a screen 364 is shown in which theuser counts and sequences speech sounds, FIG. 20D shows a screen 366 inwhich the user segments and sequences sounds within a word, and FIG. 20Eshows a screen 368 in which a user manipulates speech sounds to generatea new word.

[0086] In summary, the sound unit detection module may contain 68different levels (in a preferred embodiment) which teaches a user tocount and sequence sounds in a series of sounds or in words and tocreate new words by deleting, adding, substituting and rearrangingsounds. As described above, the tasks in the game may be controlled andadjusted based on the difficulty variables at each level of training.Now, the tasks incorporated into a preferred embodiment of the blendingsound training game in accordance with the invention will be described.

[0087]FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a first task 380 of theblending sounds training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 382, the training module may audibly present the segmented soundunits of a target word to the user and generate written or oralinstructions for the user for the particular task. In step 384, the useris prompted to identify the word heard based on the segmented soundunits. For example, the user may hear “di” “no” and “saur” separatedfrom each other by a varying interval of time and the proper responseshould be “dinosaur”. In step 386, the user enters a response to themodule using one of the input devices, such as the keyboard, the mouseor the speech recognition device. In step 388, the module analyzes theuser's response to determine, for example, the correctness of the user'sresponse and performance of the user based on some performance criteriasuch as time elapsed during the response. In step 390, the module mayprovide the user with feedback 392 (shown in FIG. 23 as visual feedback,but it may also be auditory feedback) about the user's responses. In theexample of the visual feedback shown in FIG. 23, a gem 394 may indicatea correct answer and a coconut 396 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0088] In step 398, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 400. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the size of the sounds units since smaller soundunits (e.g, speech sounds) are harder to put together than are largersounds units (e.g., syllables), the time between the sounds units, thenumber of perceptually similar response choices, the number of units ofsound or the syllable structure of the target word (as described above).After the level has been increased using one or more of the difficultyvariables, the module may loop back to step 382.

[0089] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 402. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 404 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 382. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 406 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 382. Now, a second task of the blending soundstraining game will be described.

[0090]FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a second task 410 of theblending sounds training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 412, the training module may audibly present sound units of aword with one unit omitted (e.g., /c/ and /t/ for “cat”) and generatewritten or oral instructions for the user for the particular task. Instep 414, the user is prompted to identify the word heard based on thesound units heard combined with the omitted sound unit. For example, theuser may hear /c/ and /a/ and the proper response should be “cat”. Instep 416, the user enters a response to the module using one of theinput devices, such as the keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognitiondevice. In step 418, the module analyzes the user's response todetermine, for example, the correctness of the user's response andperformance of the user based on some performance criteria such as timeelapsed during the response. In step 420, the module may provide theuser with feedback 392 (shown in FIG. 23 as visual feedback, but it mayalso be auditory feedback) about the user's responses. In the example ofthe visual feedback shown in FIG. 23, a gem 394 may indicate a correctanswer and a coconut 396 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0091] In step 422, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 424. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the size of the sounds units since smaller soundunits are harder to put together than are larger sound units, the numberof sounds units in the word, the syllable structure of the target word(as described above), or the position in the word of the omitted sound(e.g., it is harder to guess when the omitted sound is at the start ofthe word than if the omitted sounds is at the end of the word). Theposition of the omitted sound in the word may be the initial sound, amedial sound or the ending sound. After the level has been increasedusing one or more of the difficulty variables, the module may loop backto step 412.

[0092] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 426. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 428 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 412. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 430 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 412. Now, an example of the user interface for theblending sounds training module will be described.

[0093]FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface438 of the sound blending training game in accordance with the inventionthat may include the feedback 392 and one or more graphicalrepresentations 440 of words. In operation, the user may hear the sounds/t/, /r/ and /ee/ separately (or with one sound unit omitted) and thenblend the sounds together to form the word “tree” and then click theappropriate picture 440 of the tree. FIGS. 24A-24G are diagramsillustrating examples of different views of sub-tasks of the blendingsounds training game of FIG. 23. In particular, each sub-task may usethe same user interface, but will train different skills as describedabove. Thus, as described in ascending order of difficulty, a sub-task442 (shown in FIG. 24A) trains a user's skill at blending two syllablesinto a word, a sub-task 444 (as shown in FIG. 24B) trains a user'sskills at blending three syllables into a word, a sub-task 446 (FIG.24C) trains a user's skill at blending four syllables into a word, asub-task 448 trains a user's skill at blending two phonemes into a word,a sub-task 450 trains a user's skill at blending three phonemes into aword, a sub-task 452 trains a user's skill at blending four phonemesinto a word, and a sub-task 454 trains a user's skill at word closure(e.g., a user fills in missing syllables or phonemes into a word).

[0094] In summary, the blending sounds training game may include 60different levels which train a user to blend syllables and phonemes intowords. Once the blending has been mastered, the user may be trained tocomplete words by filling in missing syllables or phonemes. As describedabove, the difficulty of the training may be adjusted adaptively bychanging one or more difficulty variables. Now, the tasks in a preferredembodiment of a sound identification training module will be describedin more detail.

[0095]FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a first task 460 of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 462, the training module may audibly present a sound repeatedlyto the user and generate written or oral instructions for the user forthe particular task. In step 464, the user is prompted to identify whenthe sound changes. For example, the module may generate one or moreacoustically modified sounds as described above, such as frequencychanges and voice onset time changes. In step 466, the user enters aresponse to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 468, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 470, the module may provide the user with feedback 472 (shown inFIG. 29 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) aboutthe user's responses. In the example of the visual feedback shown inFIG. 29, a hippo score 474 may indicate a correct answer and a rhinoscore 476 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0096] In step 478, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 480. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the type of sound (vowel, consonant, etc.), theacoustic and perceptual differences between the sounds (which may bemodified by the acoustic modifier as described above such as thedifferences in the frequency components and duration of the voice onsettime), the phonetic context, and perceptual saliency of the sound.

[0097] The phonetic context refers to the neighboring, adjacent speechsounds, either before or after the target sound. Because of the way thatsounds are co-articulated in connected speech, adjacent sounds affectthe acoustic properties of the target sound and thereby affect itsperceptual saliency and the level of perceptual difficulty. Somephonetic contexts have greater impact than others. For example, the /r/and /l/ have a significant impact on the preceding vowel. In thiscontext, the acoustic properties of the vowel are, in essence, distortedmaking this context more difficult that perceiving a vowel in isolationor in a different phonetic context, such as when it is followed by /t/.The acoustic and perceptual saliency refers to the inherent acousticproperties of sounds. Some sounds inherently have robust acousticproperties (energy, frequency and duration) making them relatively easyto perceive. Other sounds have weak acoustic cues which make them moredifficult to perceive. For example, long vowels have more acousticenergy than short vowels and so are more salient. As another example,the consonants r-l (known as liquid consonants) are longer in durationthan the consonants d-g (known as stop consonants) and therefore aremore easily perceived. As a final example, the liquid consonants, r-l,have their acoustic energy distributed across a wide frequency range incomparison to the consonants m-n (known as nasal consonants), which havetheir acoustic energy concentrated in the low frequency range, thusmaking m-n less perceptually salient. After the level has been increasedusing one or more of the difficulty variables, the module may loop backto step 462.

[0098] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 482. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 484 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 462. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 486 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 462. Now, a second task of the sound identificationmodule will be described.

[0099]FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a second task 490 of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 492, the training module may audibly present two sound stimulito the user and generate written or oral instructions for the user forthe particular task. In step 494, the user is prompted to identify ifthe sounds are the same or different. In step 496, the user enters aresponse to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 498, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 500, the module may provide the user with feedback 472 (shown inFIG. 29 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) aboutthe user's responses. In the example of the visual feedback shown inFIG. 29, a hippo score 474 may indicate a correct answer and a rhinoscore 476 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0100] In step 502, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 504. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the acoustic and perceptual differences betweenthe sounds (which may be modified by the acoustic modifier as describedabove), and the inherent acoustic and perceptual saliency of the soundas described above. After the level has been increased using one or moreof the difficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 492.

[0101] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 506. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 508 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 492. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 510 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 492. Now, a third task of the sound identificationmodule will be described.

[0102]FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a third task 520 of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 522, the training module may audibly present a target sound anda series of words to the user and generate written or oral instructionsfor the user for the particular task. In step 524, the user is promptedto identify the word that contains the target sound. For example, thetarget sound may /b/ and a proper response is “ball”. In step 526, theuser enters a response to the module using one of the input devices,such as the keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. Instep 528, the module analyzes the user's response to determine, forexample, the correctness of the user's response and performance of theuser based on some performance criteria such as time elapsed during theresponse. In step 530, the module may provide the user with feedback 472(shown in FIG. 29 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditoryfeedback) about the user's responses. In the example of the visualfeedback shown in FIG. 29, a hippo score 474 may indicate a correctanswer and a rhino score 476 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0103] In step 532, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem is used in which the user must provide three correct responses ina row to advance to the next level and if the user provides twoincorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If the userhas met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 534. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the acoustic and perceptual saliency of the targetsound. After the level has been increased using one or more of thedifficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 522.

[0104] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 536. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 538 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 522. If the userhas not met the. decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 540 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 522. Now, a fourth task of the sound identificationmodule will be described.

[0105]FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task 550 of the soundidentification training game in accordance with the invention. Althoughthe method is being described as a single task, the single task inaccordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 552, the training module may audibly present a target sound anda word to the user and generate written or oral instructions for theuser for the particular task. In step 554, the user is prompted toidentify the position of the sound in the word. For example, the modulemay generate the sound /c/ and the word “cat” and the proper response isto identify the sound as being at the beginning of the word. In step556, the user enters a response to the module using one of the inputdevices, such as the keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognitiondevice. In step 558, the module analyzes the user's response todetermine, for example, the correctness of the user's response andperformance of the user based on some performance criteria such as timeelapsed during the response. In step 560, the module may provide theuser with feedback 472 (shown in FIG. 29 as visual feedback, but it mayalso be auditory feedback) about the user's responses. In the example ofthe visual feedback shown in FIG. 29, a hippo score 474 may indicate acorrect answer and a rhino score 476 may indicate an incorrect response.

[0106] In step 562, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 564. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the acoustic and perceptual saliency of the sound.After the level has been increased using one or more of the difficultyvariables, the module may loop back to step 552.

[0107] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 566. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 568 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 552. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 570 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 552. Now, an example of the user interface and anexample of the sub-tasks will be described.

[0108]FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user interface580 of the sound identification training game in accordance with theinvention. In addition to the feedback 472, the user interface may alsoinclude a picture of a hippo (the user) shooting baskets against a rhino(the computer). In playing the game, the user may listen to a targetsound (e.g., “e”) and listen to series of words while holding down themouse button. The user is then supposed to release the mouse button whenthe user hears the word containing the sound. FIGS. 30A-30F are diagramsillustrating examples of different views of the sub-tasks of the soundidentification training game of FIG. 29. Each sub-task may use the samebasic user interface of FIG. 29 with different sound stimulus. Forexample, FIG. 30A illustrates a sub-task 582 for training a user'sdiscrimination of vowels, FIG. 30B illustrates a sub-task 584 fordiscriminating between consonants in minimal pair CV syllables, FIG. 30Cillustrates a sub-task 586 for training a user's recognition ofdiphthongs in a word, FIG. 30D illustrates a sub-task 588 for training auser's recognition of tense vowels in a word, FIG. 30E illustrates asub-task 590 for training a user's recognition of lax vowels in a wordand FIG. 30F illustrates a sub-task 592 for training a user'sidentification of the position of a consonant sound in a word.

[0109] In summary, the sounds change identification module may include155 levels that use natural and computer-generated speech to train usersto discriminate vowels and consonant sounds. The user may also betrained to recognize sounds and to identify positions of sounds inwords. In addition, sound-symbol correspondence for vowels, voweldigraphs, diphthongs consonants and consonant blends may be presented tothe user. As described above, the difficulty of the training may beadaptively changed using the difficulty variables. Now, a preferredembodiment of the sound pattern recognition training module will bedescribed.

[0110]FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a first task 600 of the soundpattern recognition training game in accordance with the invention.Although the method is being described as a single task, the single taskin accordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 602, the training module may audibly present a target sound ortarget sound pattern and a series of words to the user and generatewritten or oral instructions for the user for the particular task. Instep 604, the user is prompted to identify when the user hears the wordthat contains the target sound. For example, the target sound may /b/and a proper response is “cab”. In step 606, the user enters a responseto the module using one of the input devices, such as the keyboard, themouse or the speech recognition device. In step 608, the module analyzesthe user's response to determine, for example, the correctness of theuser's response and performance of the user based on some performancecriteria such as time elapsed during the response. In step 610, themodule may provide the user with feedback 612 (shown in FIG. 35 asvisual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) about the user'sresponses. In the example of the visual feedback shown in FIG. 35, alightbulb 613 may illuminate to indicate a correct answer and aunilluminated light may indicate an incorrect answer.

[0111] In step 614, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem may be used in which the user must provide three correctresponses in a row to advance to the next level and if the user providestwo incorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If theuser has met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 616. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the complexity of the sound pattern, theperceptual saliency of the sound pattern or the position in the word ofthe target sound. After the level has been increased using one or moreof the difficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 602.

[0112] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 618. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 620 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 602. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 622 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 602. Now, a second task of the sound patternrecognition module will be described.

[0113]FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a second task 630 of the soundpattern recognition training game in accordance with the invention.Although the method is being described as a single task, the single taskin accordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 632, the training module may audibly present a target sound ortarget sound pattern and a series of words to the user and generatewritten or oral instructions for the user for the particular task. Instep 634, the user is prompted to identify when the user hears thesound/word that contains the target sound. For example, the target soundmay be /b/ and a proper response is “ball”. In step 636, the user entersa response to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 638, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 640, the module may provide the user with feedback 612 (shown inFIG. 35 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) aboutthe user's responses. In the example of the visual feedback shown inFIG. 35, a light bulb 613 may illuminate to indicate a correct answerand a unilluminated light may indicate an incorrect answer.

[0114] In step 642, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem is used in which the user must provide three correct responses ina row to advance to the next level and if the user provides twoincorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If the userhas met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 644. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the complexity of the sound pattern, theperceptual saliency of the sound pattern or the position in the word ofthe target sound. After the level has been increased using one or moreof the difficulty variables, the module may loop back to step 632.

[0115] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 646. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 648 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 632. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 650 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 632. Now, a third task of the sound patternrecognition module will be described.

[0116]FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a third task 660 of the soundpattern recognition training game in accordance with the inventionAlthough the method is being described as a single task, the single taskin accordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 662, the training module may audibly present one or more soundunits of a target word to the user and generate written or oralinstructions for the user for the particular task. In step 664, the useris prompted to identify the word heard. In step 666, the user enters aresponse to the module using one of the input devices, such as thekeyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. In step 668, themodule analyzes the user's response to determine, for example, thecorrectness of the user's response and performance of the user based onsome performance criteria such as time elapsed during the response. Instep 670, the module may provide the user with feedback 612 (shown inFIG. 35 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditory feedback) aboutthe user's responses. In the example of the visual feedback shown inFIG. 35, a lightbulb 613 may illuminate to indicate a correct answer anda unilluminated light may indicate an incorrect answer.

[0117] In step 672, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem is used in which the user must provide three correct responses ina row to advance to the next level and if the user provides twoincorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If the userhas met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 674. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the complexity of the structure of the soundunits, the time interval between the sound units and the presence orabsence of background noise/auditory interference (i.e., extraneousauditory stimuli presented between sound units). The complexity of thestructure of the sound unit refers to the number and sequence ofconsonants and vowels. In this module, the number of consonants andvowels for the entire word is not changed, but instead for the onsetonly. For example, the module may preferably begin with a very simplesound structure of C (“s” for example), proceed to CC (“st” for example)and then finally to CCC (“str” for example). After the level has beenincreased using one or more of the difficulty variables, the module mayloop back to step 662.

[0118] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 676. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus needs to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 678 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 662. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 680 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 662. Now, a fourth task of the sound patternrecognition module will be described.

[0119]FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a fourth task 690 of the soundpattern recognition training game in accordance with the invention.Although the method is being described as a single task, the single taskin accordance with the invention may actually include multiple smallersub-tasks wherein each sub-task may train a particular area within theskills or may vary a different difficulty variable (as described below).In step 692, the training module may audibly present a word to the userand generate written or oral instructions for the user for theparticular task. In step 694, the user is prompted to change the soundsin the word presented to the user to generate a new word. In step 696,the user enters a response to the module using one of the input devices,such as the keyboard, the mouse or the speech recognition device. Instep 698, the module analyzes the user's response to determine, forexample, the correctness of the user's response and performance of theuser based on some performance criteria such as time elapsed during theresponse. In step 700, the module may provide the user with feedback 612(shown in FIG. 35 as visual feedback, but it may also be auditoryfeedback) about the user's responses. In the example of the visualfeedback shown in FIG. 35, a lightbulb 613 may illuminate to indicate acorrect answer and a unilluminated light may indicate an incorrectanswer.

[0120] In step 702, the module may determine if the user has met theadvance level criteria (e.g. has the user answered three questions in arow correctly). In this task, a {fraction (3/2)} adaptive trainingsystem is used in which the user must provide three correct responses ina row to advance to the next level and if the user provides twoincorrect responses in a row, the user's level is decreased. If the userhas met the advance level criteria, the module may increase thedifficulty of the task in step 704. The difficulty of the task may beincreased by changing one or more of a number of different difficultyvariables in accordance with the invention. For example, the difficultyvariables may include the syllabic structure of the word and theposition of the sound that is being manipulated in the word. Forexample, the sound being manipulated may be at the beginning of a word,at the end of a word or in the middle of the word. After the level hasbeen increased using one or more of the difficulty variables, the modulemay loop back to step 692.

[0121] If the user has not met the advance level criteria, the modulemay determine if the user has met the decrease level criteria (i.e., theuser has provided two incorrect answers in a row) in step 706. If theuser has met the decrease level criteria and thus need to have thedifficulty of the task decreased, the module may decrease the leveldifficulty in step 708 by changing one or more of the above describeddifficulty variables and the method loops back to step 692. If the userhas not met the decrease level criteria, then the method continues ontostep 710 in which the task continues at the current difficulty level andloops back to step 692. Now, several examples of the sound patternrecognition module will be described.

[0122]FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface720 of the sound pattern recognition training game in accordance withthe invention. In addition to the feedback 612, the user interface mayalso include one or more ducks 722 which says one or more different wordendings. In particular, a user hears “Which duck says ‘sip’ without the‘s’?” and each duck may say a word ending. The user may then click onthe duck that said the correct ending. FIGS. 36A-36D are diagramsillustrating examples of different views of sub-tasks of the soundpattern identification training game of FIG. 35. For example, FIG. 36Aillustrates a recognizing word endings sub-task 730 in which the usermay be asked to recognize rimes containing r-controlled vowels, rimescontaining post-vocalic /l/, closed syllable rimes and open syllablerimes. An example of each type of word is shown in the drawing. FIG. 36Billustrates a recognizing word beginnings sub-task 732 in which the useris asked to recognize single consonant blends and consonant digraphs(with examples of each in the drawing), two-consonant blends andthree-consonant blends. FIG. 36C illustrates a blending of onsets withrimes sub-task 734 while FIG. 36D illustrates a segmenting sub-task 736in which the user segments and/or deletes phonemes, onsets and rimes.

[0123] The sound pattern identification training module may include 142different levels that train a user to rhyme, identify common sound andspelling patterns and to blend and segment onsets and rimes. Inaddition, sound-symbol correspondence for vowels, vowel digraphs andconsonant blends may be presented to the user. As described above, thedifficulty of the training may be adaptively changed using thedifficulty variables.

[0124] In summary, the invention permits a user's skills at one or moreauditory processing, phonological awareness, phonological-processing andreading skills to be trained so that the user may become a betterreader. The various skills may be trained by the one or more trainingmodules included in the system in accordance with the preferredembodiment of the invention. In accordance with a preferred embodimentof the invention, each training module may include one or more tasks (inthe form of games) so that the user plays the game and, in order tomaster the game, learns certain skills. The skills may include, forexample auditory attention, short term memory, figure-grounddiscrimination, sequential memory, temporal processing, patternrecognition, phoneme sequencing, phonological segmentation andphonological manipulation, phonological blending, auditory and phonemediscrimination, word closure, auditory performance with degradedsignals, auditory vigilance, phoneme identification, phoneme sequencing,sight recognition, and rhyming. Each of the skills help the user to readand spell better since a person that has the auditory, phonological andreading skills are more likely to be able to read and spell.

[0125] While the foregoing has been with reference to a particularembodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that changes in this embodiment may be made without departingfrom the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which isdefined by the appended.

1. A tool for training one or more skills associated with the readingskills of an individual, comprising: one or more training modules thattrain a particular set of auditory processing, phonological awareness,phonological processing and reading skills so that the user's skills atthe set of skills improves; means for generating a stimulus for the userfor each training module, the stimulus comprising one or more of agraphical image and an audible sound; and means for receiving a userresponse to one of the graphical images and audible sound presented byeach module.
 2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the receiving means furthercomprises a speech recognition device for receiving a verbal responsefrom the user to the one or more modules.
 3. The tool of claim 2,wherein the one or more training modules each comprise one or more tasksthat train different auditory processing, phonological awareness,phonological processing and reading skills
 4. The tool of claim 3,wherein each training module further comprises means for changing adifficulty variable of each task in the module in order to change thedifficulty of the task.
 5. The tool of claim 4, wherein the difficultytraining means further comprises means for increasing the difficulty ofthe task when a first predetermined number of responses from the userare correct and means for decreasing the difficulty of the task when asecond predetermined number of responses are incorrect.
 6. The tool ofclaim 4, wherein the difficulty training means further comprises meansfor increasing the difficulty of the task when a first predeterminednumber of consecutive responses from the user are correct and means fordecreasing the difficulty of the task when a second predetermined numberof consecutive responses are incorrect, the second predetermined numberbeing less than the first predetermined number.
 7. The tool of claim 1,wherein the training modules further comprise a sound recall trainingmodule comprising means for presenting a series of sounds to the userand means for receiving a response from the user indicating the soundsand the order of presentation.
 8. The tool of claim 1, wherein thetraining modules further comprise a sound recall training modulecomprising means for presenting a series of sounds to the user, meansfor receiving a response from the user indicating the sounds and theorder of presentation and means for changing one or more difficultyvariables of the task to change the difficulty of the task.
 9. The toolof claim 8, wherein the difficulty variables comprise a linguisticmodifier that changes the instructions provided to the user so that theuser's response is different from the original ordering and sequence ofthe sounds.
 10. The tool of claim 1, wherein the training modulesfurther comprise a sound detection training module comprising means forpresenting a series of sounds to the user and means for receiving aresponse from the user indicating the sounds and the order ofpresentation.
 11. The tool of claim 1, wherein the training modulesfurther comprise a sound detection training module comprising means forpresenting a series of sounds to the user, means for receiving aresponse from the user indicating the sounds and the order ofpresentation and means for changing one or more difficulty variables ofthe task to change the difficulty of the task.
 12. The tool of claim 11,wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises a number ofsounds presented to the user.
 13. The tool of claim 1, wherein thetraining modules further comprise a sound detection training modulecomprising means for presenting a series of sounds to the user and meansfor receiving a response from the user indicating the number of sounds.14. The tool of claim 1, wherein the training modules further comprise asound detection training module comprising means for presenting a seriesof sounds to the user, means for receiving a response from the userindicating the number of sounds and means for changing one or moredifficulty variables of the task to change the difficulty of the task.15. The tool of claim 14, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises a number of sounds presented to the user.
 16. The tool ofclaim 11, wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises meansfor changing the syllable structure of a word presented to the user, thesyllable structure including one or more vowels and one or moreconsonants in a predetermined order.
 17. The tool of claim 11, whereinthe sound detection training module further comprises a task requiringthe user to identify the number and sequence of sounds in a wordcomprising means for presenting the one or more sounds to the user andmeans for receiving a response from the user indicating the number andsequence of sounds in a word.
 18. The tool of claim 17 wherein the taskfurther comprises means for changing the difficulty of the task bychanging one or more difficulty variables.
 19. The tool of claim 18,wherein the difficulty variable comprises the number of sounds presentedto the user.
 20. The tool of claim 18, wherein the difficulty variablecomprises the availability of auditory feedback to the user.
 21. Thetool of claim 18, wherein the difficulty variable comprises the syllablestructure of the word.
 22. The tool of claim 11, wherein the sounddetection training module further comprises a task requiring the user tomanipulate one or more sounds to form a new word from the one or moresounds comprising means for presenting the one or more sounds and meansfor receiving a response from the user with the new word from the one ormore sounds.
 23. The tool of claim 11, wherein the sound detectiontraining module further comprises a task requiring the user tomanipulate one or more sounds to form a new word from the one or moresounds comprising means for presenting the one or more sounds, means forreceiving a response from the user with the new word from the one ormore sounds and means for changing the difficulty of the task
 24. Thetool of claim 23, wherein the difficulty changing means comprises meansfor changing the amount of auditory feedback provided to the user. 25.The tool of claim 23, wherein the difficulty changing means comprisesmeans for changing the type of sound manipulation to be performed by theuser, the sounds manipulation including one of re-arranging phonemes,deleting a phoneme, replacing a phoneme and inserting a phoneme.
 26. Thetool of claim 23, wherein the difficulty changing means comprises meansfor changing the number of sounds presented to the user.
 27. The tool ofclaim 1, wherein the training modules further comprise a sound blendingtraining module comprising means for presenting a series of sound unitsto the user and means for receiving a response from the user indicatingthe word formed by the sounds units.
 28. The tool of claim 1, whereinthe training modules further comprise a sound blending training modulecomprising means for presenting a series of sound units to the user,means for receiving a response from the user indicating the word formedby the sounds units and means for changing one or more difficultyvariables of the task to change the difficulty of the task.
 29. The toolof claim 28, wherein the difficulty changing means further comprisesmeans for changing the syllable structure of a word presented to theuser, the syllable structure including one or more vowels and one ormore consonants in a predetermined order.
 30. The tool of claim 28,wherein the sound blending training module further comprises means foromitting a sound unit from a word wherein the user must recognize theword without the omitted sound unit.
 31. The tool of claim 30, whereinthe sound blending module further comprises means for changing one ormore difficulty variables in order to change the difficulty of the task.32. The tool of claim 31, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises means for changing the position of the omitted sound unit inthe word.
 33. The tool of claim 31, wherein the difficulty changingmeans further comprises means for changing the size of the sound unitspresented to the user.
 34. The tool of claim 31, wherein the difficultychanging means further comprises means for changing the number of soundunits presented to the user.
 35. The tool of claim 31, wherein thedifficulty changing means further comprises means for changing thesyllable structure of the word.
 36. The tool of claim 1, wherein thetraining modules further comprise a sound identification training modulecomprising means for repeatedly presenting a series of sounds to theuser, the sounds changing at a predetermined time and means forreceiving a response from the user indicating when the sound changed.37. The tool of claim 1, wherein the training modules further comprise asound identification training module comprising means for repeatedlypresenting the same sound, means for presenting a different sound andmeans for receiving a response from the user indicating when the userheard the different sound.
 38. The tool of claim 37 wherein the soundidentification training module further comprises means for changing oneor more difficulty variables of the task to change the difficulty of thetask.
 39. The tool of claim 38, wherein the difficulty changing meanscomprises means for changing the perceptual saliency of the sound byordering the sounds based on their inherent acoustic and phoneticproperties.
 40. The tool of claim 38, wherein the difficulty changingmeans comprises means for changing the phonetic context of the sound.41. The tool of claim 38, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises means for changing types of the sounds presented to the user,the types of sounds including vowels and consonants.
 42. The tool ofclaim 38, wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises meansfor changing the acoustic and perceptual difference between the soundsby acoustically modifying the sounds.
 43. The tool of claim 37, whereinthe sound identification training module further comprises a taskrequiring the user to identify a target sound in a word furthercomprising means for presenting a target sound to the user, means forpresenting a series of words to the user and means for receiving aresponse from the user when the user hears the word containing thetarget sound.
 44. The tool of claim 43, wherein the task furthercomprises means for changing one or more difficulty variables in orderto change the difficulty of the task.
 45. The tool of claim 44, whereinthe changing means comprises means for changing the acoustic andperceptual saliency of the word.
 46. The tool of claim 1, wherein thetraining modules further comprise a sound pattern recognition trainingmodule comprising means for presenting a target sound to the user andmeans for receiving a response from the user indicating that the userhears a word with the target sound.
 47. The tool of claim 1, wherein thetraining modules further comprise a sound pattern recognition trainingmodule comprising means for presenting a target sound to the user, meansfor receiving a response from the user indicating that the user hears aword with the target sound and means for changing one or more difficultyvariables of the task to change the difficulty of the task.
 48. The toolof claim 1, wherein the one or more training modules further comprise asound pattern recognition training module further comprising means forpresenting one or more target sounds to the user and means for receivinga response from the user blending the one or more sounds into a word.49. The tool of claim 48, wherein the sound pattern recognition trainingfurther comprises means for changing one or more difficulty variables ofthe task to change the difficulty of the task.
 50. The tool of claim 49,wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises means forchanging the complexity of the target sound presented to the user. 51.The tool of claim 49, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises means for changing the position in the word of the targetsound.
 52. The tool of claim 49, wherein the difficulty changing meansfurther comprises means for changing the perceptual saliency of thetarget sound by ordering the sounds based on their inherent acoustic andphonetic properties.
 53. The tool of claim 1, wherein the one or moretraining modules further comprise a sound pattern recognition trainingmodule further comprising means for presenting one or more target soundsto the user and means for receiving a response from the usermanipulating the one or more sounds into a new word.
 54. The tool ofclaim 53, wherein the sound pattern recognition training furthercomprises means for changing one or more difficulty variables of thetask to change the difficulty of the task.
 55. The tool of claim 54,wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises means forchanging the complexity of the target sound presented to the user. 56.The tool of claim 54, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises means for changing the position in the word of the targetsound.
 57. The tool of claim 54, wherein the difficulty changing meansfurther comprises means for changing the perceptual saliency of thetarget sound by ordering the sounds based on their inherent acoustic andphonetic properties.
 58. The tool of claim 54, wherein the difficultychanging means further comprises means for changing the syllablestructure of the word.
 59. The tool of claim 47, wherein the difficultychanging means further comprises means for changing the complexity ofthe target sound presented to the user.
 60. The tool of claim 47,wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises means forchanging the position in the word of the target sound.
 61. The tool ofclaim 47, wherein the difficulty changing means further comprises meansfor changing the perceptual saliency of the target sound by ordering thesounds based on their inherent acoustic and phonetic properties.
 62. Thetool of claim 48, wherein the difficulty changing means furthercomprises means for changing the amount of background noise presentedbetween sound units.
 63. A method for training a user to discriminate asound, comprising: presenting a first and second sound to the user, eachsound having a particular set of acoustic components that distinguishthe two sounds; altering an acoustic component of the first sound to berecognized by the user by a predetermined amount in order to make thesound more similar to the second sound so that the first sound is moredifficult to distinguish from the second sound; and continuing to alterthe acoustic component of the first sound until the first and secondsound are identical.
 64. The method of claim 63, wherein the acousticcomponent comprises a frequency component of the sound.
 65. The methodof claim 64, wherein the frequency component comprises a first formantfrequency.
 66. The method of claim 64, wherein the frequency componentcomprises a second formant frequency.
 67. The method of claim 63,wherein the acoustic component comprises the duration of the sound. 68.The method of claim 67, wherein the duration of the sound comprises thevoice onset time of the sound.
 69. The method of claim 63, wherein theacoustic component comprises the energy of the sound.
 70. A method fortraining a user to discriminate a sound, comprising: selecting aphonetic class of sounds to be presented to the user to change theperceptual saliency of the sounds in order to change the difficulty ofdiscriminating the sounds, wherein changing the ordering of the soundsis based on the inherent acoustic and phonetic properties of the sounds;and presenting a first and second sound to the user from the phoneticclass of sounds.
 71. The method of claim 70, wherein the phonetic classof sounds comprise one of vowels and consonants.
 72. The method of claim71, wherein the phonetic class of sounds further comprise short vowelsand long vowels wherein the long vowels have more saliency that theshort vowels.
 73. The method of claim 71, wherein the phonetic class ofsounds further comprise liquid consonants, stop consonants and nasalconsonants wherein the liquid consonants are more salient than the stopconsonants which are more salient than the nasal consonants.
 74. Amethod for training a user to discriminate a sound, comprising:selecting the phonetic context of sounds to be presented to the user tochange the perceptual saliency of the sounds in order to change thedifficulty of discriminating the sounds wherein changing the ordering ofthe sounds is based on the phonetic context of the sounds; andpresenting a first and second sound to the user based on the selectedphonetic context of the sounds.
 75. The method of claim 74, wherein thephonetic context comprises presenting the sound isolated from othersounds.
 76. The method of claim 74, wherein the phonetic contextcomprises presenting the sound in combination with another sound thatmakes it more difficult to perceive the sound.